“It’s a long story, but I’ll keep it short,” says Erin McHale, a biologist from Old Bridge, New Jersey, who will complete her PhD this spring at the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. McHale is a specialist in bats and their behaviour — and she dreams of working in Iceland in the future.

Icelandair has cancelled some of its flights to the United States today, as well as arrivals from the US scheduled for tomorrow morning. Several flights are still operating as planned.

Republican members of the US Congress celebrating at a reception on Wednesday night likely had no idea they were unwittingly recreating a moment from Reykjavik history — echoing a party held in Grjótaþorpið in downtown Reykjavik a full century earlier.

A Taiwanese company, Brogent Technologies, has reached an agreement to acquire the Icelandic company Flyover Attractions, which includes Flyover Iceland. The management of Flyover Iceland says the company’s operations will remain unchanged.

The Marine Research Institute’s vessels Þórunn Þórðardóttir and Árni Friðriksson left the capelin survey route around midday yesterday and headed closer to shore due to the weather. Þórunn took shelter in Aðalvík in the Hornstrandir area, while Árni sought refuge in Húnaflói.

“We are approaching this with full commitment, and I hope that we can finally reach an agreement,” says Anton Kári Halldórsson, municipal manager of Rangárþing eystra.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has received confirmation from U.S. authorities that U.S. President Donald Trump was not referring to Iceland when he mentioned the country four times in his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos yesterday.

Most real estate agents believe that market activity remains low for this time of year and that conditions still favour buyers.

Support for the Centre Party has increased by three percentage points month-on-month and now stands at 22.2% in the latest poll by Maskína. This is just under five percentage points lower than support for the Social Democratic Alliance, which measures at 27%.

Niceair’s planned flight from Akureyri to Copenhagen, scheduled for February, will not go ahead. This was to have been the relaunched airline’s inaugural flight.

Yesterday was a hectic day at the emergency department of Landspítali University Hospital in Fossvogur. Dozens of people sought treatment for slip-and-fall injuries, and it can be said that hazardous conditions prevailed in southwest Iceland due to icy roads and pavements.

The bridge over the river Jökulsá at Breiðamerkursandur, near Jökulsárlón on the Ring Road, will be closed from 7:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. tomorrow night.

Magma continues to accumulate slowly and steadily beneath Svartsengi. Nearly 20 million cubic metres of magma have now accumulated there since the last eruption in July.

Numerous traffic accidents have occurred so far this morning after black ice formed on roads in the capital area.

The owner of four dogs in Akranes appealed a decision by the Planning and Environment Committee of the Municipality of Akranes to ban dog ownership at his home to the Environmental and Natural Resources Appeals Committee.

Veitur has increased the fixed charge for district heating by 48.9% over the course of one year, without the increases being presented to city councillors.

The Danish patrol vessel Thetis is currently in Skjálfandi.

Icelanders can continue to expect spectacular northern lights displays in the coming months and years. Aurora activity is generally more frequent in the years following the peak of the so-called sunspot cycle, which occurred in 2024.

A yellow weather warning for a southeast storm is in effect in Breiðafjörður, where winds are very strong at 19–23 m/s, with gusts of up to 35 m/s. Conditions are therefore hazardous for vehicles that are susceptible to strong crosswinds.

Karen Stephensen Halldórsdóttir, a small-boat fisher, suggests that draft regulations on coastal fishing, published in the government consultation portal, are sexist.

“I guess that if there is an eruption, it will probably be the last one. That’s just my guess,” says volcanologist Þorvaldur Þórðarson about a possible eruption along the Sundhnúkagígar crater row.

No work is currently taking place on the protective barriers at Grindavík, but those involved remain on alert and ready to respond should a volcanic eruption begin.

Billy Long, whom U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated as ambassador to Iceland, says in an interview with Arctic Today that he apologizes for remarks he made earlier this week about turning Iceland into the 52nd state of the United States, with himself as its governor.

Any attempt by the United States to seize Greenland by force would have “monumental consequences” for the Western alliance and the global order.

A petition has been launched on island.is calling on Minister for Foreign Affairs Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir to reject Billy Long as the United States ambassador to Iceland, following remarks he made informally to members of the U.S. Congress yesterday, as reported by Politico.

Iceland’s Parliament, Alþingi, meets today, Wednesday, following a nearly month-long Christmas recess. Parliamentary sittings were adjourned on 18 December 2025.

Farmed fish from a land-based aquaculture facility escaped into the sea in Tálknafjörður toward the end of last month. The operator did not activate a contingency plan in response to the escape, but maintains that most, if not all, of the fish were dead or injured.

A delighted ticket holder won ISK 7 million as the first prize in the main draw of the University of Iceland Lottery last night. The winner got married this autumn, and the couple had not yet managed to book a honeymoon, but now they plan to book their dream honeymoon.

Police have stopped and arrested the driver of a passenger car at the off-ramp from Reykjanesbraut to Ártúnsbrekka after pursuing the vehicle around the capital area for some time.

A major fire broke out in a warehouse on Gufunesvegur shortly before 5 p.m. yesterday. When the Capital Area Fire and Rescue Service arrived on the scene, the building was fully engulfed in flames. The fire was reported at 5:03 p.m.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the Icelandic state violated the rights of a young woman who reported a rape to the police, after the case was dropped at the time. A spokesperson for Stígamót says the perpetrator’s confession was on record in the case and questions whether the Icelandic justice system is capable of handling such cases.

Gale-force winds are affecting the Eastfjords, and an uncertainty level has been declared at Fagridalur due to avalanche risk near Grænafell. This was stated in a post by Eastfjords Police on Facebook.

A total of 83,950 foreign nationals were registered as residents in Iceland on January 1, an increase of 11 since December 1, 2025.

In the sauna Sækot by Ægisíða in the Vesturbær district of Reykjavík, a distinctive sauna culture has taken shape in recent years around what is known as Gusa. There, heat, cold, music, scent, and social connection come together in an experience many describe as both a form of health practice and a journey away from the stresses of everyday life and into calm and well-being.

An earthquake swarm began on the Reykjanes Ridge shortly before 6 a.m. last night. The largest quake measured magnitude 3.4.